Shoe-fastener.



J. H. MUMAW.

SHOE PASTENBR. APPLICATION FILED IEB.B, 1911.

994,187, Patented June 6,1911.

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JOHN H. MUMAW, 0F CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO ALFRED J. DYSLE, OF CANTON, OHIO.

SHOE-FASTENEB.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN H. MUMAW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ganton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Shoe- Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in fastening devices for articles wherein sepa rated edges or portions are adapted to be brought together and connected, as by means of lacing and the like, for the purpose of closing said article and fastening said separated edges or portions to each other.

The most common application of the invention is in the connecting and fastening of the separated edges or portions of shoes and my invention peculiarly relates to shoe fasteners, although the invention is admirably adapted for use on many other articles such, for instance, as gloves and other articles of wearing apparel.

The objects of my invention are to generally improve devices of the character mentioned and to provide a simple, strong, durable and eflicient fastening device of Very neat appearance and having many advan tages over the usual kinds of fastening devices, some of which advantages will hereinafter more fully appear. These objects, together with other objects, readily apparent to those skilled in the art, I attain by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings; although my invention may be embodied in other forms, the construction illustrated being chosen by way of example.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front view of an Oxford shoe embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the shoe, showing a part of one of the front edges on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front view illustrating my shoe fastener as it appears when entirely closed or fastened. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Throughout the several views similar ref erence numerals indicate similar parts.

The shoe illustrated in the drawing is of the Oxford type, having an opening between the front or lacing edges of the upper at the median line.

The numeral 1 indicates the vamp and 2 the foxing of the upper. To the vamp at the bottom of the median opening is connected in the usual way the tongue 3 which, as

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 8, 1911.

Patented June 6, 1911.

Serial No. 607,263.

usual, is formed of a broad and thin piece of leather or other material and is adapted to underlie the opening and the edges thereof. The front edges of the foxing 2 are separated from each other a distance slightly greater than that in the usual construction of Oxford shoes of the Blucher type, the edges of the foxing 2 in the drawing being shown at 4.

On the inside of the foxing 2 the inner flaps 5, extending beyond the edges 4: of the foxing, are provided, said inner flaps being connected to the foxing by stitching or otherwise. On the outer side of the foxing 2 the outer flaps 6 are connected by the stitching 7. By means of this construction the in ner flaps 5 and the outer flaps 6 will be separated from each other a distance equal to the thickness of the foxing 2. This is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.

Each flap (Sis provided with a vertical series of integral fastening tongues 8,said tongues being of course flexible and having their side edges upwardly curved from their bases to their free ends. The first few fastening tongues from the bottom up on each side are provided at their free ends with eyelets 9. The remaining fastening tongues on each side are each provided at the free end with a small wire fastening loop 10 provided with an integral turn 11 which extends backwardly toward the base of the tongue to which the loop is attached, the said turn 11 and the loop of which it is a part lying substantially in the same plane, although it will be understood that by reason of the construction of the loop from wire there will of necessity be a slight turning from an exact plane by reason of the crossing of the wire at the point 12 in the formation of the turn 11. Each turn constitutes a fastening hook or bill as wilLhereinafter appear. The loops 10 may be connected to the fastening tongues in any workman-like manner, as for instance by extending the free end of the tongue through the loop, folding said end upon itself, and connecting the said free end to the body of the tongue by the stitching 13.

It should be understood that the fastening tongues on each side form an unbroken series from the bottom to the top of the opening, the edges of serially adjacent "tongues being arranged side by side. Along the outer side of each inner flap from bottom to top thereof is arranged a series of lacing rings 14:. At the lower or bottom end of the series one ring only is provided opposite each fastening tongue having an eyelet. Opposite the fastening tongues provided with the loops 10, or in other words in the top portion of the series, the rings 14 are arranged in vertically disposed pairs, each two rings constituting a pair being located close to each other and opposite one of the fastening tongues provided with a loop 10 on the other side of the opening. A thin, smooth, flexible, preferably round lace 15 is fastened at the bottom end of each inner flap in any suitable and well known manner and extends through the eyelet 9 of the lowermost fastening tongue on the opposite side, then through the first single ring 14, then through the eyelet of the next fastening tongue, then through the next lacing ring, etc., for all of the fastening tongues provided with eyelets. The lace then extends serially through the rings arranged in pairs so that between each two of the rings the lace may be drawn out laterally forming the free loops 16 which loops may be drawn up or shortened by pulling upon the free end of the lace, as will be readily understood.

In unfastening the shoe for the purpose of putting it on or taking it off of the foot, the fastening tongues provided with the eyelets 9 are not entirely detached from the lace, the lace being sufficiently loosened to permit the shoe to be put on or taken off without inconvenience. The fastening tongues on the two sides of the opening alternately over-lying each other as will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings. In Fig. 3 for instance, the lower-most fastening tongue 17 on the left-hand side is first arranged with the lace on the righthand side extending through its eyelet, then the lower-most fastening tongue 18 on the right-hand side is brought over the outer side of the tongue 17 and the lace on the left-hand side extended through its eyelet, which will dispose the end of the tongue 18 under the base of the second tongue 19, on the left-hand side. The tongue 19 is then brought over the tongue 18 and has its end similarly fastened by the lace on the righthand side, the end of the tongue 19 being disposed under the base of the tongue 20. In this manner all of the lower fastening tongues provided with eyelets are arranged, alternately over-lying each other from bottom to top of the series. The laces 15 are then extended through the remaining lacing rings 14 as hereinbefore described and when it is desired to fasten or unfasten the shoe the wearer needs to individually fasten only the remaining fastening tongues which are provided with the loops 10. This is accomplished by taking a fastening tongue from onerside and fastening it by means of its loop 10 to its appropriate loop 16 of the lace on the other side, then taking the next fastening tongue on said other side, bringing it over the fastening tongue just fastened and attaching it to its corresponding loop 16'of the lace on the first mentioned side by means of the loop 10. By alternately fastening the fastening tongues on one side and the other in this manner they will be caused to alternately over-lie each other with their fastened ends entirely hidden from view under the bases of the 0pposite fastening tongues so that when all of the tongues have been fastened the appearance of the structure shown in Fig. 3 will be presented. It will be readily understood that the free loops 16 may be very easily hooked over the turns or coils 11 and that after a loop has been so hooked over one of said turns the free end of the lace may be drawn up, thus shortening or contracting the loop 16 and drawing the attached fastening tongue over closer to the lacing rings. 13y arranging the lacing rings in pairs opposite those fastening tongues provided with the loops 10 the lace may be more freely drawn taut after the turn 11 has been attached and the loop 16 of the lace may be more readily drawn out for engagement with the turns 11 than if but single lacing rings were employed.

It will be noted that the top fastening tongues are not provided with eyelets 9 or loops 10 but on one side the top fastening tongue is provided with the button portion 21, while on the other side the fastening tongue is provided with the socket portion 22 of a snap fastener or clasp such as is commonly used on gloves and the like so that the two fastening tongues may be very quickly and conveniently connected. In fastening up the shoe when all of the fastening tongues except the top ones have been connected to the laces 15 the free ends of said laces are drawn up until all of the fastening tongues have been drawn taut and into place in a snug manner, when the free ends of the laces may be tied in the ordinary manner, or otherwise fastened and any remaining free portions of said laces snugly arranged under the top fastening tongues, which are then brought together and detachably connected to each other by the snap fastener above mentioned. The lace will then be entirely out of sight and the completed shoe fastener will present the appearance shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted from an inspection of said Fig. 3 that the fastener presents a practically continuous and relatively smooth and unbroken outer surface, the fastening tongues snugly fitting in their alternately over-lapped positions insuring protection and comfort as well as giving a neat appearance. The inner flap 5 being spaced from the outer flap 6 the thickness of the foxing 2, a space is formed sufficiently large to readily accommodate the lacing rings, laces and loops 10 so that the fastener is in no wise bulky or uneven, ing any unequal or undue pressure against the foot of the wearer and insuring a neat external appearance.

While the construction illustrated and above described appears at present to be the preferable construction I do not desire to be limited to the details shown and described. This is especially true of the loops 10 and the method of connecting the ends of the fastening tongues to the inner flaps 5, as other forms of construction in this particular will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that some other method of connecting the two top fastening tongues may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim 1. A shoe fastener comprising in combination with a shoe having the front edges of the foXing separated from each other at the median line, inner flaps connected to the inner side of said foxing, outer flaps connected to the outside of said foxing, said outer flaps provided with fastening tongues, the tongues of the two outer flaps on the two sides of said opening being adapted to alternately over-lie one another, considering said tongues serially from bottom to top of the opening, with the free ends of said fastening tongues under-lying the bases of certain of the fastening tongues on the opposite side, and means for drawing the free ends of said fastening tongues toward said inner flaps.

2. A shoe fastener comprising in combination with a shoe having the front edges of the foxing separated from each other at the median line, inner flaps and outer flaps connected to said foxing on both sides of thus preventthe opening, said outer flaps provided with fastening tongues, the tongues of the two outer flaps adapted to alternately over-lie one another considering said tongues serially from bottom to top of the opening, and means for attaching the free ends of said fastening tongues to said inner flaps.

3. A shoe fastener comprising in combination with a shoe having the front edges of the foxing separated from each other, a series of fastening tongues connected to said foxing on each side of said opening, said tongues on each side forming a continuous and unbroken series, with lateral edges immediately adjacent from bottom to top of said opening, means located beneath the bases of the tongues for connecting the tongues on each side to the foXing on the other side of the opening, and said tongues adapted to be arranged in alternate overlapped position with the free ends of said tongues and said fastening means hidden from view beneath the bases of said fastening tongues.

4. A shoe fastener comprising in combination with a shoe having the front edges of the foxing separated from each other, fastening tongues arranged in unbroken series on each side of said opening and connected to said foxing on both sides of the opening, the individual fastening tongues on each side adapted to over-lie certain individual tongues of the other side and to extend across said opening, and means for fastening the ends of the tongues on the inner side of said foxing on both sides of said opening.

In testimony that I claim the above, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. MUMAW.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. MILLER,

IRENE LUTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

